Middletown Arts Center presents the MAC Music Café: Under the Western Sky

(MIDDLETOWN, NJ) — The Middletown Arts Center presents the MAC Music Café: Under the Western Sky on Sunday, January 25, 2026 from 4:00pm-6:00pm. Saddle up for a great night of music featuring Shotgun Bill Anania, Rick Dill, and Christian Beach. The event is FREE (with a suggested donation of $5).

The showcase brings together a diverse lineup of performers, each with their own unique style and voice:

Shotgun Bill is Bill Anania, a late-blooming singer-songwriter based in Monmouth County, NJ. You’ll find him performing at events and venues throughout the area. Since 2012, Bill has collaborated with Frank Patrouch as Frank and Bill, releasing three CD projects: Whiskey and Revenge (Frank Patrouch), One Good Line (Frank & Bill), and Unplugged and Uncouth.

In 2016, Bill released his first solo CD, The B-Sides, followed by his second solo project, Train Cars, Prison Bars… and a White Guitar, in the summer of 2017. Both projects were created in collaboration with his longtime friend Scott “Tango Kid” Yetka.

The duo released Shotgun Bill with the Tango Kid – Lonesome Cowboys in April 2019, followed by the Quarantined EP during the pandemic. In the summer of 2021, they released their fifth project together, Lack of Luxury. Their latest album, Birds of a Feather, was released in fall 2023, with an all-acoustic album, Dos Hombres Acústicos, slated for release in 2025.

Shotgun Bill with the Tango Kid was nominated for the Indie Music Channel Awards 2022 for Best Americana Artist. In 2024, Shotgun Bill won Americana Singer/Songwriter at the Indie Music Radio Awards, followed by Best Americana Band in 2025. Bill’s music is available on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon and Bandcamp.

Rick Dill’s songs reflect a life lived and lessons learned, set across different historical periods that still feel familiar. He has released ten self-produced collections of music, along with several singles and collaborations with friends. His work is available on all major music streaming platforms. Whenever and wherever music is found, there is also a miracle.

Christian Beach is a New Jersey-based singer-songwriter who has been part of the Jersey Shore music scene since the late 1980s. As the driving force behind several bands (Slave of Id, Artists That Kill, Ton of Bricks) from the early 1990s through early 2000s, he played some of New Jersey’s legendary clubs like the Green Parrot, The Stone Pony, The Brighton Bar, and The Fast Lane. In 2005, Beach spent some time playing keyboards and guitar for Transfusion M, a project fronted by Michael Ferentino (Love In Reverse, Dog), appearing on that band’s lone 2005 album and accompanying the group for a leg of the 2006 Vans Warped Tour.

Upon his return from the road, Beach branched out on his own as a singer-songwriter inspired by American roots and folk music, and heavily influenced by Bob Dylan, Hank Williams Sr., The Band, and more contemporary artists like Jeff Tweedy. Beach’s first solo album, Christian Beach, was released in 2009. Music journalist Gary Wien ranked it as one of the top 100 albums by New Jersey artists between 2001 and 2010, with its lead track “Open Spaces” in the No. 77 slot among the top 100 songs by New Jersey artists in that same span. After 11 years, Beach released his follow-up project, a six-song EP titled DoubleLife that was released in early April 2020. On January 1, 2021, Beach released Basement Noise, a 13-song collection of refurbished demos of material recorded but never released in the decade between the two previous records.

The Middletown Arts Center is located at 36 Church Street in Middletown, NJ (next to the Middletown train station). Free parking is available onsite with additional free parking available in the station-metered lot on weekday evenings after 6 p.m. and on weekends.

The Middletown Arts Center (MAC) is an award-winning, state-of-the-art facility in Middletown, New Jersey that offers performances, exhibits, classes, demonstrations and camps centering on the arts. Its convenient location across from the Middletown train station on Church Street enables easy access and its expanded MAC Annex is minutes away at the Middletown Reformed Church’s Education Building. The MAC is operated by a non-profit 501c3, the Middletown Township Cultural and Arts Council which is dedicated to bringing quality arts programming and events to Middletown and surrounding communities.